WHAT IS MORBID OBESITY?

Morbid Obesity is a life-long, progressive, life threatening, genetically related, costly, multi-factorial disease of excess fat storage with multiple co-morbidities (obesity related health problems). An individual is considered morbidly obese when they are approximately 100 pounds over their ideal weight or if their Body Mass Index (BMI) is 40 or greater.

Many things contribute to the epidemic of morbid obesity. Morbid Obesity is a genetically based disease state. Children of normal weight parents have only a 10% chance of becoming morbidly obese. Children of 2 Morbidly Obese parents have an 80% to 90% chance of becoming morbidly obese themselves. The
problem is compounded by sedentary lifestyles that include hours spent in front
of the television or computer, driving to the corner market instead of walking, riding lawn mowers, moving sidewalks and more. Convenient, largely portioned, high fat, high calorie foods and an abundance of sweets only make the problem worse.

How big is the problem? 50% of Americans are overweight. As many as 34 million Americans are more than 20% overweight, even more frightening is the fact that 6 to 10 million Americans are more than 100 pounds overweight. Just over 7% of American women and approximately 5% of American men are morbidly obese. In one shocking study the American Obesity Association reports that in 1997 2,314,245 total deaths occurred in the U.S. Of those total deaths, 13% were directly related to morbid obesity. On December 13, 2001 the U.S. Surgeon General declared war on obesity. He reported that approximately 300,000 people die unnecessarily each year as a result of obesity related illnesses and complications. Obesity is currently the 2nd leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.; second only to smoking. According to the U.S. Surgeon General obesity deaths will surpass smoking deaths within 5 years and some studies suggest that obesity is already resulting in more preventable deaths than smoking.

Morbid obesity causes or complicates cardiovascular conditions such as high blood pressure, congestive heart failure and chest pain. Metabolic complications such as hyperlipidemia and Adult Onset Type II Diabetes are also a result of morbid obesity. 80% of the total diabetic population are obese. Complications arise in the gastrointestinal system such as colon cancer in males, gall bladder disease and fatty liver when an individual is morbidly obese. Obese women may experience infertility problems, stress incontinence, abnormal pap smears, and uterine and breast cancer. Pulmonary functions are compromised in the obese resulting in shortness of breath, fatigue and sleep apnea. Other complications include degenerative arthritis of weight-bearing joints and lower back, hernias, higher accident propensity, stressful mobilization and immobility. Many of these conditions are improved or even eliminated with substantial weight loss.